Right before Apple launched games for the Apple iPhone on the App Store, Square Enix released the original Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes, a strategy RPG for the original click-wheel iPod. The game used your own music to generate troops in battle, with power, class, and rarity determined by the song used in creation. You could even power up your characters when not playing, just by listening to the music that summoned them.

It was a brilliant concept, but why wasn't it on the iPhone instead? Well now it is, and I can stop asking that question.

Song Summoner follows the story of Ziggy, a young conductor with the power to give music physical form. His brother has been kidnapped, and he must rally the troops to fight by your side.

The iPhone version of Song Summoner features more than 50 unlockable troops to aid you through a story twice the size of the original game, for more than 30 hours of gameplay. 30 hours of gameplay is a hell of a deal for the $9.99 asking price, and there's also a free lite version available if you want to try before you buy.

I've spent the past hour going through the music on my iPhone, trying to create the perfect army. Apparently Weird Al isn't good battle music. Go figure.

Record of Agarest War, also known as "that soul-breeding game," was announced for North American PlayStation Network release back in July, leaving Xbox 360 owners to sit and weep and wonder why. Now the publisher has revealed that 360 owners will get to indulge in creating the next-generation of hero alongside PS3 owners this spring, a decision that is apparently much more important than anyone suspected.

"In truth, we had Record of Agarest War ready to go up on the PlayStation Network months ago," [Ed.'s note: That's a lie.] says Ben Bateman, Editor, Aksys Games, "But when a haggard man emerged from a ball of crackling energy that materialized outside our office with dire warnings from a dark future, we decided to reconsider. As it turns out, a PlayStation Network-exclusive release of Agarest was-or rather, would have been-the catalyst for World War III. The gaming community was torn apart-literally-by this apparent favoritism, and from that schism poured the infinite minions of Satan himself, the Lord of Lies. The man told us, his eyes blank with the 1000-yard stare, of the horrors of this future war. He had been sent back in time, the last hope of a desperate human resistance, to prevent what the people of this desolate future Earth called, simply, ‘The Breaking.' As the last spark of life passed from his body, broken and battered by his journey through the time vortex, we swore to honor his final wish.

""This is why Record of Agarest War has been delayed," Ben continues, his eyes wet with tears, "So that we may release it on both consoles, and in doing so, save the world."

They are a brave, brave people.

Atlus Injects November With Eternal Poison

Save the princess, save the world

IRVINE, Calif. - August 4, 2008

Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today announced Eternal Poison for PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Released in Japan as Poison Pink, Eternal Poison delivers a riveting narrative with sweeping themes and memorable characters, complimented by classic tactical gameplay and a uniquely dark aesthetic. Prepare yourself for an adventure rife with action and intrigue in this grand strategy RPG drama.

Soundtrack CD included
Every single copy of Eternal Poison is a special two-disc set. In addition to the game disc, customers will receive a soundtrack CD featuring selected music from the game.

Eternal Poison is currently scheduled for release on November 11, 2008, with an MSRP of $39.99.About Eternal Poison
Our world descended into chaos the day the demonic realm of Besek appeared. Creatures known as the Majin emerged, wreaking havoc and destroying our way of life. They captured the Princess of Valdia and imprisoned her in their lair. Now, brave adventurers throughout the land have set out to explore the Majin homeland. Some wish to rescue the princess; some seek fame and glory; some merely want revenge. However, there are those who look to harness the Majin's dark powers, for it is rumored that deep within Besek lies the Eternal Poison, a legendary treasure able to make your deepest desires come true. Travel the paths of some of these adventurers, and as their tales unfold, you will discover the true meanings of romance, heroism, madness, despair, and betrayal...

Key Features
• Five stories in one—Walk the winding paths of five different parties as they journey deeper into hostile lands. With branching paths and optional encounters, you must chart each course carefully, for your choices will have a direct impact on the outcome of each tale.

• Capture and collect demons—All demons can be exploited - even bosses - so every battle offers the intriguing choice of binding or killing your foes. Bound demons can be summoned to fight at your side or be sacrificed for money or new spells.

• Gorgeous dark fantasy world—Step into a twisted fairytale world of demons, black magic, and a quest for the ultimate treasure. The kidnapping of the Princess and the temptation of finding the Eternal Poison have drawn your heroes into a world full of dangerous traps, fiendish monsters, and unexpected villains. Discover a world that is as rich in beauty as it is in corruption.

Eternal Poison has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

The gameplay sounds a little bit real-time action and a little bit turn-based strategy, with a card combat system. Full release follows the jump.

IRVINE, Calif. - June 09, 2008

Atlus U.S.A., Inc., today announced Yggdra Union, a card-based strategy RPG for the PlayStation®Portable system (PSP). For years, strategy RPG fans have accepted repetitive, non-interactive battle sequences as the genre standard; few games have dared to break the mold. Yggdra Union blows through, shattering the mold into tiny, unrecognizable bits. One reviewer wrote of the game’s ground-breaking mechanics, “It's no easy feat to invigorate a genre that has remained fairly set in its ways for the last few generations, let alone do it with the imagination and energy present here.”* Experience a fresh mix of turn-based strategy and real-time action, constantly engaging the player and providing intense, riveting gameplay combined with tactical card-based combat.

Originally released for Game Boy Advance to warm praise, Yggdra Union is beautifully remade and loaded with enhancements, including fully remastered audio and visuals (featuring the artwork of famed character designer and manga artist Satoko Kiyuzuki), dual language voiceovers in both Japanese and English, a widescreen aspect ratio, additional difficulty settings, new unlockable content, and more… all exclusive to the PSP® system!

Yggdra Union is currently scheduled for release on September 16.

Described as a demonstration of "commitment" to that system, Atlus' "gritty militaristic strategy RPG" revolves around tactics and customization for giant biomechs in a war between the Guylos Empire and the Republic of Helic.

Hey, lots of you have said you're sick of World War II, right?

Full release after the jump.

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — MAY 13 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc., hailed as publisher of the month by "Hulking War-Machine Weekly," today announced Zoids Assault, a gritty militaristic strategy RPG featuring enormous beasts of steel, exclusively for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Zoids Assault further demonstrates Atlus' commitment to Xbox 360® system and the strategy RPG genre, joining Operation Darkness and Spectral Force 3 in a stacked 2008 lineup.

Manage a team of elite war machines through a campaign of intense military conflicts. Advanced upgrade and customization options combine with challenging objective-based gameplay to offer a fresh new strategy RPG and a daring new vision of the long-running Zoids universe. Commanders, start your engines (of war)!

Zoids Assault is currently scheduled for release on August 26.

Visit the official site:
http://www.atlus.com/zoids

About Zoids Assault:
When war broke out between the world's two main superpowers, the Guylos Empire and the Republic of Helic, the effects rippled across the globe, dragging other nations into the fight. Two such nations were Maroll and Jamil.

During the war, Maroll's attacks on the neighboring Jamil were devastating, and even a decade after the war had ended, Jamil's economy and infrastructure hadn't fully recovered. Animosity, paranoia, and mutual mistrust between the two nations hindered their ability to find a common ground and complete their peace talks. For ten long years, the two nations found themselves in the middle of a cold war.

After a mysterious explosion at one of Maroll's military bases, two covert ops teams are sent into Jamil territory, their exact mission details never disclosed. Somehow, the events of the present are inextricably linked to the past—to the final days of the war, ten years ago...

Key Features:
• Command a Zoid army - Take control of a fleet of giant biomechanical life forms that blend the assets of beast and machine to create fierce weapons of war.
• Advanced military tactics - Facing armies that far outnumber you means optimizing your tactical advantages. Mastering the concentrated fire tactic, managing the scan gauge and support tactics, and utilizing the Electromagnetic Pulse System will be crucial to your survival.
• First-class customization - Take your units to the next level with upgrades, including melee weapons, rockets, rifles, machine guns, shotguns, cannons, and more

Zoids Assault has been rated "T" for Teen with Fantasy Violence and Mild Language by the ESRB.

Disgaea 3 Website (Japanese) [Nippon Ichi Software - Thanks Makaze!]

The game features voiced cutscenes and interludes with game mascot Kopin, who is adorable in his own onion-headed sort of way. Check out Kopin and friends in the latest batch of screenies below. Michael Fahey